VA-ALERT: VCDL Update 1/6/09

[OakRidgeStars]

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VCDL's meeting schedule: http://www.vcdl.org/meetings.html
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Abbreviations used in VA-ALERT: http://www.vcdl.org/help/abbr.html
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VCDL Update 1/6/09 - compiled by member Jay Britt

1. Reminder: VCDL meeting in Richmond and Lobby Day
2. Who needs a gun at home in Botetourt County?
3. Permit holder sues in Federal court
4. LTE: Guns, teachers and self-defense
5. Examiner.com: Don't be a gun dork in traffic stops
6. Outstanding Christmas gift!
7. Guns in the locker
8. Police: Gunman in Finland kills 5, self


**************************************************
1. Reminder: VCDL meeting in Richmond and Lobby Day
**************************************************

VCDL membership meeting and Lobby Day seminar is TOMORROW, Thurday,
January 7th from 7 PM to 9 PM at:

Topeka's Steakhouse
1776 Parham Rd.
Richmond, VA 23229

The meeting is open to the public, so bring friends, family, and
coworkers!

**************************************************
2. Who needs a gun at home in Botetourt County?
**************************************************

Steve Wirt emailed me this:

--

http://tinyurl.com/ybryom4

www2.wsls.com
By Scott Leamon
December 28, 2009

Three gunmen kicked in the front door of a Botetourt County home just
after midnight Sunday.

The Botetourt County sheriff said the three gunmen then terrorized the
homeowner and his 79 year old wife.

The gunmen wore masks as they burst into the home of Joe Noell, 81, of
Glebe Hill Drive in Daleville.

One of the gunmen ordered Noell's wife to open a safe inside the home,
according to a news release from the Botetourt County sheriff's office.

The release said the wife was too scared and couldn't do it.

The intruders then tied up the couple and left.

Investigators believe the robbers parked their getaway car near the
main road, Glebe Road, for an easier escape.


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3. Permit holder sues in Federal court
**************************************************

It is not a crime in Virginia to decline to tell the police whether
you have a gun or not. It is my understanding that the officers told
Mr. Stevenson that he legally had to tell them if he was carrying.

If so, the officers were wrong about Virginia law:

--

http://tinyurl.com/yhve49e

opencarry.mywowbb.com
December 31, 2009

Roanoke police actions spark lawsuit

A Roanoke man says officers violated his rights during a dispute about
his gun license.

http://tinyurl.com/ylgfjg2

[SNIP]
Aaron A. Stevenson filed a lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in
Roanoke alleging that his constitutional rights were violated during a
May 6 traffic stop. He named two officers, Chief Joe Gaskins and the
city as defendants.

Stevenson was driving along Williamson Road to pick up his daughter
from church when Roanoke police Officer Jamie A. Kwiecinski stopped
him. Stevenson was given a summons because his registration had expired.

Kwiecinski learned that Stevenson had a concealed carry permit and
asked if he had a gun. ***Stevenson declined to answer.***

Kwiecinski called for backup, and Officer Dwight W. Ayers arrived on
the scene. Stevenson said the officers ignored his repeated invocation
of his right to remain silent, and to have an attorney present during
questioning.

The officers pulled Stevenson from his vehicle, the lawsuit said, took
the .45-caliber handgun he wore in a belt holster, and put him in
handcuffs in the back of a police car. Stevenson said he was
threatened with loss of his permit, confiscation of his gun and
indefinite detention while police investigated whether he was involved
in anything criminal.

Officers never read Stevenson his Miranda rights, the lawsuit said,
and Ayers told Stevenson the questioning would stop if he would admit
to some criminal action.

As the incident continued, some of Stevenson's co-workers drove past
and his employer stopped to see what was happening. The officers asked
the employer if Stevenson had mental problems.

Stevenson said the tight handcuffs injured his wrists.

Eventually, Sgt. Sandy Duffey, a police supervisor, said to release
Stevenson.

In the lawsuit, Stevenson asked for unspecified monetary damages,
injunctions to prevent future incidents and a declaration that his
civil rights had been violated.

Online court records indicated that the expired registration charge
against Stevenson was dismissed in June.


**************************************************
4. LTE: Guns, teachers and self-defense
**************************************************

Carla and Dave Hicks emailed me this:

--

What???? Sacrifice your own child????

"I would sooner lay my child to rest than succumb to the belief that
the use of a gun for self-defense is somehow not in itself a gun crime."

Satire or insanity? [PVC: I'm leaning towards satire. But, if not,
definitely insanity!]

http://tinyurl.com/yaopcr7

http://www.boston.com
December 28, 2009

I AM a math teacher at Brockton High School, the site of a school
shooting earlier this month.

Current school security procedures lock down school populations in the
event of armed assault. Some advocate abandoning this practice as it
holds everyone in place, allowing a shooter easily to find victims.

An alternative to lockdown is immediate exodus via announcement.
Although this removes potential hostages and makes it nearly
impossible for the shooter to acquire preselected targets, it unfairly
rewards resourceful children who move to safety off-site more shrewdly
and efficiently than others.

Schools should level playing fields, not intrinsically reward those
more resourceful. A level barrel is fair to all fish.

Some propose overturning laws that made schools gun-free zones even
for teachers who may be licensed to securely carry concealed firearms
elsewhere. They argue that barring licensed-carry only ensures a
defenseless, target-rich environment.

But as a progressive, I would sooner lay my child to rest than succumb
to the belief that the use of a gun for self-defense is somehow not in
itself a gun crime.

DOUG VAN GORDER
Quincy


**************************************************
5. Examiner.com: Don't be a gun dork in traffic stops
**************************************************

http://tinyurl.com/ydb8jdp

http://www.examiner.com
By Mike Stollenwerk
December 31, 2009

SNIP

Examiner.com: On numerous Internet forums, and some email lists, gun
owners periodically report being hassled by police when pulled over
for routine traffic infractions. . . . But often there is a common
thread to these stories the dorky gun owner brought up the gun thing
all on her own! . . .


**************************************************
6. Outstanding Christmas gift!
**************************************************

Good video, too. She tried talking the criminal into not robbing her,
while she bided her time to draw her own lawfully carried handgun.

Harry Vasquez emailed me this:

--

What a thoughtful Xmas gift - Go Idaho!

Happy New Year
Harry


http://tinyurl.com/yl83mwj

http://www.kxly.com
By Colleen O'Brien
December 30, 2009

COEUR D'ALENE -- The owner of Sunshine Espresso in Coeur d'Alene
fought fire with fire - literally - when she pulled a handgun on a 17-
year-old boy who tried to rob her stand Wednesday morning.

Police arrested the teen shortly after the incident, which took place
just before 6:30 a.m. in the 1900 block of Government Way.

Sunshine Espresso owner Michelle Cornelsen said the teen walked up to
her stand and demanded cash without showing the gun at first

"He didn't have it at first, he was playing with his pocket, I had a
bad feeling though. I had a bad feeling about him," Cornelsen said.

What the robber didn't know is that Cornelsen has had her concealed
weapons permit for seven years and she had received a new 9mm handgun
for Christmas from her husband.

"My husband got me a 9mm for Christmas ... I was pretty excited about
that. It made it's debut this morning," she said.

"I've never had to use it, thank God, but this morning it came in
fairly handy."

She stalled the teen by talking to him about why he was trying to rob
her, to which he replied that he didn't have any money.

"He was like 'I'm really sorry, gotta make some money' and I said 'I
do too, I'm a business owner and I will protect what I have, I don't
wanna give you the money. I don't'," she said.

About five minutes into the attempted robbery another customer pulled
up to the stand, distracting the would-be robber and giving Cornelsen
the opportunity to grab her gun.

"Sure enough a customer pulled up on this side and he laid it down on
the counter and covered it up with his hand," she said.

The teen laid his gun down on the counter, just long enough for
Michelle to grab her own gun.

"I grabbed mine, put it in his face and said 'Get out, you leave right
now' and he said 'OK, OK' and left," Michelle said.

The teen walked away nonchalantly. Meanwhile about two blocks away a
Kootenai County deputy in plain clothes was serving civil papers and
heard the radio call about the attempted robbery. He tracked down the
teen and held him at gunpoint until backup arrived and took him into
custody.


**************************************************
7. Guns in the locker
**************************************************

Had the arena been here in Virginia, none of this would have been
illegal. The Washington Post just can help but insinuate their anti-
gun bias into this story:

"Mr. Arenas's celebrity should neither shield him nor make him a
target for exaggerated penalties. It might, though, help him in
delivering an important message about guns being neither glamorous nor
desirable. 'I don't need these anymore,' he said of his weapons.
That's something we hope his young fans hear."

I'm thinking that subscribing to the Washington Post is neither
glamorous nor desirable either:

http://tinyurl.com/ybrj2ew

http://www.washingtonpost.com
December 31, 2009

PERHAPS THE situation is as innocent as described by Gilbert Arenas.
Newly sensitized by the birth of his daughter to the danger of having
guns around his house, the Washington Wizards star says he meant no
harm when he brought the unloaded weapons to Verizon Center for
safekeeping. But, in doing so, it seems that Mr. Arenas might have run
afoul of D.C. law -- and it's important that authorities do their job
investigating the matter.

D.C. police officials confirmed Tuesday that they are assisting the
U.S. attorney's office with a probe into the circumstances under which
Mr. Arenas brought guns to the arena. The incident occurred on or
about Dec. 10 and was disclosed on Christmas Eve, when CBSSports.com
reported that the NBA was looking into the matter. The league
prohibits weapons at its sports facilities; more critically, D.C. law
strictly prohibits the carrying of guns, either openly or concealed.

Mr. Arenas has said he wasn't aware of the law and that he turned the
guns, reported to have been properly registered in Virginia, over to
team security with instructions to give them to the police. Why Mr.
Arenas didn't choose a more straightforward method of relinquishing
the weapons, and why he held the guns in his Verizon Center locker for
a week, are some of the questions authorities need to get answered.
D.C. officials say that it's not unusual for people, mainly out-of-
town tourists, to unwittingly violate the city's gun laws, believing
(wrongly) that there is no harm as long as the weapons are unloaded.
Generally, they end up charged with a misdemeanor.

Mr. Arenas's celebrity should neither shield him nor make him a target
for exaggerated penalties. It might, though, help him in delivering an
important message about guns being neither glamorous nor desirable. "I
don't need these anymore," he said of his weapons. That's something we
hope his young fans hear.


**************************************************
8. Police: Gunman in Finland kills 5, self

**************************************************

James Corbett emailed me this:

--

http://tinyurl.com/yd9zm5m

http://www.washingtontimes.com
December 31, 2009

HELSINKI (AP) -- A gunman clad in black went on a shooting rampage
Thursday, killing his ex-girlfriend then slaying four workers at a
suburban shopping mall near Helsinki before apparently turning his gun
on himself, police said.

Finnish police said one woman and three men were shot dead Thursday
morning at the Sello shopping mall in Espoo, six miles (10 kilometers)
west of Helsinki.

The gunman was identified as 43-year-old Ibrahim Shkupolli, an
immigrant who had been living for several years in Finland, police
superintendent Jukka Kaski said, adding that the weapon used was an
unlicensed handgun.

Kaski said Shkupolli killed his ex-girlfriend in a nearby apartment
before heading to the mall.

The ex-girlfriend, a Finnish woman born in 1967, also worked at the
mall and had taken out a restraining order against Shkupolli, Kaski
said.

Witnesses said panic erupted at the mall, one of the Nordic region's
largest, when the shots rang out. Hundreds of mall workers were
evacuated to a nearby library and firehouse, trains were halted and
helicopters brought in as police launched a manhunt for the heavily
armed killer.

After several hours, a body was found in Shkupolli's home, which
police believed to be the killer himself. Kaski refused to confirm the
exact identity immediately, but said the cause of the death appeared
to be suicide.

Speaking at a news conference, Kaski also refused to discuss
Shkupolli's nationality, but Finnish media reported he was an ethnic
Albanian from Kosovo.

He refused to say whether the four killed at the mall had been
targeted by Shkupolli.
The midmorning slayings shocked hundreds of people who had gone
shopping early on New Year's Eve. One witness told the state
broadcaster YLE that a gunman dressed in black began randomly shooting
at people on the second floor of the mall.

"There were loads of people who were crying, and many vendors who were
completely panicked," the unnamed witness said.

Another female witness told YLE radio news she saw the suspect
carrying a long-barrelled pistol and rushing past the cashier line at
Sello's Prisma supermarket, where the slayings took place.

Finland, a nation of 5.3 million, has 1.6 million firearms in private
hands, a long tradition of hunting and ranks among the top five
nations in the world in civilian gun ownership.

Politicians, social workers and religious leaders have all urged
tighter gun laws, more vigilance of Internet sites and more social
bonding in the small Nordic nation, which is known for its high
suicide rates, heavy drinking and domestic violence.

Previous shootings in Finland have been linked to schools. In
September 2008, a lone gunman killed nine fellow students and a
teacher at a vocational college before shooting himself in the western
town of Kauhajoki. In November 2007, an 18-year-old student fatally
shot eight people and himself at a high school in southern Finland.

Both young men in those attacks fired guns in YouTube clips posted
before the shootings, shot themselves in the head and used .22-caliber
handguns bought from the same store.




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VA-ALERT is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc. (VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right.

VCDL web page: http://www.vcdl.org [http://www.vcdl.org/]

[zephyp]

Re: #4 -- ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

How in the world do people like this even have sense enough to breathe much less actually think even remotely that they can teach our children anything other than to be like them - and that is stupid.

[LFS]

Schools should level playing fields, not intrinsically reward those
more resourceful. A level barrel is fair to all fish.

I think this is very clever satire, intended to get past the anti-gun editors.

[zephyp]

Schools should level playing fields, not intrinsically reward those
more resourceful. A level barrel is fair to all fish.

I think this is very clever satire, intended to get past the anti-gun editors.

Could be, but you never know.

[herohog]

Yeah, lets dumb down the smart people who will cure cancer, find a way to achieve real peace and God knows what else. Life isn't fair! Better they learn it while they are young than whine like babies as "adults" when they grow up!

[CCFan]

Re: #4 -- ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

How in the world do people like this even have sense enough to breathe much less actually think even remotely that they can teach our children anything other than to be like them - and that is stupid.

I'm with you on this one....

and:

An alternative to lockdown is immediate exodus via announcement.
Although this removes potential hostages and makes it nearly
impossible for the shooter to acquire preselected targets, it unfairly
rewards resourceful children who move to safety off-site more shrewdly
and efficiently than others.

I don't know about making it "nearly impossible for the shooter to acquire preselected targets" but obviously this person has never heard of the 'fatal funnel'... Wonder if they'd still be patting themselves on their back if that happened....

[zephyp]

Yes and as Andy (LFS) noted above this could be a case of satire. If thats true then change my assertion of "stupid" to "sicko."